


Outcast (but never alone)

by Talinor



Series: Keitor Week 2017 [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Divergence, M/M, No Dialogue, established partnership, hand holding, reflection of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-29 07:37:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12626259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talinor/pseuds/Talinor
Summary: Keitor Week- Day 7: ParentsIf there was one thing Lotor had learned of the scav business, it was how to hide. There was little chance of his tyrannical Father or supernatural Mother finding him if he didn't want to be found.He knew this. And yet he still waited, vainly hoping for Keith's arrival.Why?What made a man like him so special to Lotor?Lotor had no clue, and yet here he still was. Waiting.





	Outcast (but never alone)

**Author's Note:**

> I have no words for this it's just   
> super soft/angsty  
> bittersweet is my favorite fic flavor   
> enjoy!

Lotor paced back and forth in the deserted ship ruins, tinged with an infectious worry. It spread throughout him quickly. His mind was plagued with question after question, each more nerve-wracking than the last. Where was Keith? Why was he half an hour late, after a record of being at least fifteen minutes _early?_ Did Father capture him? Was Keith being tortured by one of his Mother's fellow witches right now?

 

That was... scarily likely. But given Lotor's track record with scav partners- people who stripped quintessential parts of ruined Galra ships to sell on the black market, working two at a time with a bond between thieves to never be broken- that wasn't likely. Acxa? Betrayal. Shot him in the back and left him to the wildlife with barely any equipment. Got away. Zethrid? Betrayal. Tried to go behind his back and tell his father where his outlaw son was. Got away. Ezor? Betrayal. One of the toughest fights of his life. Got away. And Narti? The one exception- not betrayal, but death. Thanks to his dear Mother, who slowly possessed her until she was a husk of her former self.

 

Why should he expect things to somehow be _different_ this time? Why was he still here, waiting anxiously for either hope or a stab in the back? If he was sensible, he'd already be gone by now. If Keith showed up, he wouldn't have even found a trail. None of his father's men who might be at his side wouldn't have either.

 

If there was one thing Lotor had learned of the scav business, it was how to hide. There was little chance of his tyrannical Father or supernatural Mother finding him if he didn't want to be found.

 

He knew this. And yet he still waited, vainly hoping for Keith's arrival. 

 

 _Why?_ What made a man like him so special to Lotor? Special enough to knowingly risk discovery and ruining everything he'd ever tried to build up over the years. Special enough so even though he knew he should be long gone by now, Lotor was still waiting. Special enough to ignore his own adaptations of instincts over the years for.

 

Lotor had no clue, and yet here he still was. Waiting.

 

Keith was interesting to him, of course. They could relate and empathize with each other on many things- raised in scarily similar backgrounds. Keith hadn't been raised with royal blood running in his veins, but he was the honorary adopted son of the Voltron Paladins. He was always expected to take up his family's mantle against the Galra Empire one day.

 

Yet they dropped him like hot garbage when they found out about the Galra blood running in his veins. They didn't kick him out immediately, of course- Alteans were more courteous than that. They just made it overtly obvious at every turn how he was different from them. How he was an outcast in every single aspect. When he finally got the hint and ran away, they didn't spare a moment to look for him.

 

Judging from their backgrounds, they should be enemies. Perhaps in another life, they were- a Galra-Blooded Voltron Paladin and a Prince of the Galran Empire. Locked in battle, probably for eternity if they were both as good in that life as they were in this one.

 

But that reality wasn't this one. Quintessential parts required the deft touch of two Galrans of some degree, and sold for a pretty sum on the black market if they were in good condition. He knew Keith needed money, and Lotor... 

 

Well, scavving was really the only way he could think of to get back at his dearest parents. Taking away bits and pieces of the one thing they'd ever truly treasured. Not to mention the companionship, if reliable, was... nice. Something he'd certainly missed since he got exiled.

 

Maybe that was why he stayed. Either out of a sense that no one else would take him or just a stirring instinct that he could actually trust Keith. He wasn't sure if it was just one of those reasons or both, but either way it got him to stay. That was the only thing that really mattered.

 

A crimson streak in the dark star-splattered void visible in the sizable holes of the Galra warship got his attention. Too light and big to be a mere Galra cruiser. Too dark and small to be the Red Lion of Voltron. There was only one option left in his mind.

 

Keith's cruiser. He was finally back.

 

In spite of his worry, Lotor's heart couldn't help but swell at the silent confirmation. His seemingly doomed sense of hope truly hadn't been for nothing.

 

When Keith hovered his blocky cruiser over the giant hole in the ceiling and opened the side door, Lotor was all too happy to turn off the gravity synthesizers on his boots. He moved through the weightless space with well-practiced ease. His mood soared along with his body, gracefully lifting up to the cruiser. Especially when he saw Keith's waiting and welcoming smile.

 

When Keith offered his hand to help him inside, Lotor took it readily.

 

Because no matter who their parents were, or where they were raised and how, they were _partners._ As Lotor settled into his passenger's seat, he couldn't help but feel... right. That he was finally where he belonged- _home,_ right at Keith's side. After so many betrayals and heartbreaks, he finally felt like he found the right one.

 

Lotor noted idly that Keith hadn't said a word about the fact that their hands were still intertwined after the door closed. Neither of them moved their hand away. 

 

Perhaps he felt it too.

**Author's Note:**

> comments are always appreciated!  
> my tumblr: squishy--squish


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